Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell came to the defense of team co-owner Wyc Grousbeck, who called the Beantown franchise slightly “overrated.”
Grousbeck recently went viral for his comments, as he seemingly downplayed the team's capabilities after a highly successful run last year. He noted that the “performance was a bit overrated in the public mind” or at least in his mind since many overlook the path they had to take to get to the Finals.
Not to mention that they also lost to the Golden State Warriors for the Larry O'Brien trophy.
“(We were) a finalist and two wins away from winning it, but when you look back, Brooklyn was a tough series, and then we had to go seven games (against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat). Then we lost (to the Golden State Warriors). So, we’re not a hands-down team to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. I think we’re a quality team,”Grousbeck said.
Now, speaking on his podcast with CLNS, Maxwell spoke out on Grosbeck's comments and expressed his belief that the Celtics co-owner was simply trying to lessen the pressure on his players.
“I think he’s trying to understate it because the Celtics are gonna be the hunted team all year long. So for you to come out and say, ‘Oh my God we’re expecting to win a championship,' then you’re putting more pressure on your players, you’re putting more pressure on your organization,” Maxwell said, via NESN. “And what you do is say, ‘Look, we had some points where we got a little luck last year.”
Cedric Maxwell's explanation definitely makes sense, though it doesn't remove the fact that Grosbeck's comments were bizarre since you don't really say such things about the team you own… at least not publicly. Furthermore, the Celtics boss surely could have said it in a better way.
But hey, perhaps the Boston faithful can forgive him since his intentions seems to be good.
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